


Stale Feelings

by Focal_Jinx



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Autistic Pines Family, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-06-05 10:11:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6700786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Focal_Jinx/pseuds/Focal_Jinx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pacifica goes taco hunting with Mabel. And no, of course it isn't a date. Geez.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stale Feelings

The taco was stale which, after being found in a car, wasn’t surprising. It was also commoner’s food. Normally, Pacifica wouldn’t touch the stuff, but it was a free gift. Not a handout. Sharing. It was a new concept but one that made her feel… warm? Fuzzy? 

Happy.

That was it. Happy. Who knew that a simple concept like ‘sharing’ could make someone feel so happy? It was nice.

“Here we are!” Mr. Pines called out gruffly. The car shuddered to a halt and Pacifica jolted her head up to look around. Outside the car window she could see the gates to her home. 

“Oh. Right.” Pacifica undid her seat-belt and stepped over Mabel to exit the car. She took a few steps towards the gate before turning back. Usually, she would just keep walking, but something nagged at her to turn around. “Um, thanks, I guess.” 

“No problem!” Mabel waved back cheerfully. The happy feeling came back, but so did a tight squirming in Pacifica’s chest. Even though walking through the gates and up to her house lessened the feeling, it refused to go away completely. 

As expected, her parents weren’t home yet. Pacifica shooed away the servants and settled in her room. She was tired, but went through the steps of the nightly beauty routine her mother had taught her. High standards were her norm. Winning and perfection. Never anything less. And yet…

That feeling. Those fluttering butterflies accompanied by happiness. Pacifica was grateful Mabel had saved her from being shredded by a mini golf windmill. She could admit that Mabel was a great golfer and maybe their rivalry _was_ unnecessary. Sharing was new, but not unwanted. Pacifica could never share any of her own things of course (her parents would be beyond disgusted), but that stale taco… 

No, on second thought, that was gross. Who knew how long that taco had been sitting exposed in that clunky, dirty car? Tacos were peasant food! It was beneath her to even touch one! Who cares if Mabel was trying to be nice to her, despite all their past conflicts? What did she care if Mabel had handed it to her with her signature smile which widened past acceptable levels of cute when Pacifica took it? Why should she mind if Mabel spent the entire car ride looking at Pacifica with sparkly eyes, making sure Pacifica was safe and happy and comfortable by being sweet and quirky and listening and…

“No! Stop that!” Pacifica slammed her brush down on the vanity.

“Begging your pardon, Mistress?” Asked a maid from outside her open door.

“What? Oh, nothing. I’m going to bed now. Don’t bother me.” Pacifica shut the door while the maid bowed in obedience. Another familiar sight. Her whole life, Pacifica had been surrounded by people who were hired to serve and please her. They always agreed with her and let her win and prioritized her wants. They were hired to make Pacifica happy, and at one point they did. Snuggled deep in her plush blankets, Pacifica realized that they didn’t. In fact, they hadn’t for a long time.

And it took a stupid, stale taco for her to realize this. That taco made her truly happy. The hand that held it out to her made her happy. That bubbly, artsy, exuberant, brace-face of a girl made her happy.

“Enough.” Pacifica moaned and turned restlessly onto her side. Mabel Pines was a dork. A weirdo who had no place within Pacifica’s social circle. Okay, so _maybe_ Pacifica had liked the taco. _Maybe_ sharing was something she enjoyed. But Mabel Pines? No. Never. Impossible. Just because Mabel was the one to introduce tacos and sharing to Pacifica, it didn’t mean she liked her.

Pacifica spent most of the night trying to convince herself of this. She tossed and turned until stuffed animals and blankets ended up in a heap on the floor. When she eventually did fall asleep, she dreamt of a picnic. A picnic where a person in a large, hand-knit sweater giggled and gave Pacifica multi-coloured juice and taco sandwiches. 

Her parents weren’t at breakfast the next morning. Pacifica was glad instead of disappointed for once. She wouldn’t have to give an excuse for her troubled and disheveled appearance. Like usual, breakfast was of the highest quality and served to perfection. The servants bowed to her every whim. She ate her eggs with shiny and expensive silverware. It all left Pacifica feeling flat and empty, desiring instead that airy happiness she felt with Mabel. 

She had to put an end to this. Maybe if she got her fill of that happiness from yesterday she could acclimatize and move on. A vision of long, brown hair and train-track teeth fluttered into her mind, but Pacifica shook it away. _Ridiculousness_ , she reminded herself.

The taco made her happy. If she could get her hands on more tacos then maybe that would be enough to satisfy her desire for that squirming in her chest. Yes, okay, this could work. She just had to discreetly go to the mall for tacos and avoid Mabel Pines at all costs. Then she could get her fill of taco happiness and move on with her life. Perfect.

Discreetness was key. Nobody could know Pacifica Northwest went to the mall for tacos, _especially_ her parents. For a disguise, Pacifica wrapped her hair up in a silk scarf and wore sunglasses that covered a large portion of her face. She forewent jewelry and chose clothing that would best blend in with the crowd. Her skirt and jacket were both designer, but hopefully the dark colours would prevent her from sticking out. 

Pacifica made sure nobody saw her step out of the small but expensive car her chauffeur drove. Nobody looked at her as she entered through the mall’s doorway. Nobody looked up as she kept to the edges and stopped for a breather beside a small, plastic tree. 

So far so good. She could do this. She could stay undetected and- 

“HELLO!” Somebody greeted while bursting out of the plastic tree.

“Gyaaaah!” Pacifica jumped and whirled around. A scruffy looking Mabel hung half-way out of the tree, leaves in her hair and bending the branches. The squirmy feeling came back to Pacifica in a rush. In her shock, she forgot her mission and surroundings.

“Heya, Pacifica!” With some effort (her purple sweater got caught on a branch) Mabel stumbled out of the tree. “What’re you doing here all dressed up like a spy? (A gasp). Are you spying on someone? Is it for a secret mission? Are you on a secret mission for the government to hunt out the handsomest, best smelling-est guy in the mall?”

“Shhhh!” Pacifica slapped a well-manicured hand over Mabel’s mouth. “Keep it down!”

Mabel shrugged the hand off and gasped again. “You are!” She whispered excitedly. “Ooooooh, can I help? I happen to have a few candidates that just so happen to fit the criteria and…”

“No dummy!” Pacifica whispered back forcefully. “I’m just… here, follow me. We’re attracting attention.”

Indeed, people were starting to stare at them so Pacifica grabbed Mabel’s wrist (her stomach flipped) and dragged her to an empty corner. Mabel was practically squealing with delight along the way and the sound made Pacifica’s stomach flip around even more. This wasn’t good.

“Okay, listen,” Pacifica sighed once they were in a secluded spot. Mabel straightened out like a soldier and put on a ‘serious face’ that was more adorable than serious. 

“I’m not on any spy mission. I just came here to grab something and leave. That’s it… How’d you know it was me anyway?”

“Pacifica, Pacifica, Pacifica…” Mabel tutted. “I’m a people person! I can recognize anybody by their body language alone! For example, that guy!” She pointed towards a short man in a hat facing a window with baking goods. “I can tell with absolute certainty that that man is none other than Toby the reporter!”

The man turned around and revealed himself to be an absolute stranger with an eye-patch and gold front teeth. Mabel dropped her pointing arm.

“I smelled your perfume through the tree” she quickly amended. 

Pacifica found herself giggling and quickly cleared her throat. She wanted to ask what Mabel was doing in that tree in the first place but decided against it. 

“Fine, whatever” she said instead. “Look, I may not be on a spy mission, but this _is_ a secret one. You absolutely _cannot_ let anybody find out about this! Especially my parents! They’d probably have my stomach pumped or something.”

“Wait, what’s going on exactly?” Mabel asked with a confused expression that was as cute as her ‘serious face’. “What are you even looking for?”

Suddenly, the whole situation was a thousand times more embarrassing. If Pacifica admitted to Mabel that she was shopping for tacos… Well, the implications of that would give Mabel an edge over the rich girl, and Pacifica absolutely did _not_ want that.

On the other hand, thinking about it forced Pacifica to realize she had no idea how to go about purchasing tacos. She never had before and had no idea how the commoners did it. Was there a specific way to order them? What if the vendor asked her a question and she had no clue what to answer? That would be way more humiliating than admitting to Mabel she wanted to buy some tacos.

“Um, see the thing is, last night got me curious so I wanted to experiment…” Pacifica lied, but Mabel seemed interested so maybe her new plan would work. “I’ve never eaten a taco before, that’s commoner’s food, but it wasn’t _horrible_ and I wanted to see if getting one fresh would make a difference so I came here and, well, I…” Pacifica trailed off but Mabel was already bubbling with excitement. She flapped her hands and bit her bottom lip as a smile stretched across her face.

“Well, you’ve definitely come to the right place! Come with me! I’ll show you the absolute _best_ place to get tacos!” And with that, Mabel snatched Pacifica’s hand and dragged her towards that food court. Although Pacifica was almost tripping in an effort to keep up, a faint blush was spreading across her cheeks and she had to convince herself it was because she had succeeded in getting Mabel to show her how to buy tacos and not anything else. 

“Here we are!” Mabel skidded to a stop. From the entrance to the food court Pacifica could see a crowd a people milling about and sitting with trays of food. Hamburgers, pizza, sushi…

“Over there!” Mabel pointed out a small taco stand. A meager line stood before a fat lady filling up taco shells. It seemed… sub-par.

“Paulette’s only just opened her stand, but I can guarantee her product is of the utmost quality!” Mabel nodded. Perhaps she had spotted Pacifica’s skeptical expression. Besides, Mabel was a commoner. She would know about commoner’s things, like where to buy the best tacos.

“Okay then.” Pacifica double checked to see if anyone she knew was around. (All clear!) “Let’s go then.”

“Alrighty!” Mabel skipped forward and a tug made Pacifica realize they were still holding hands. With another blush, she pulled her hand away but still followed alongside the skipping Pines twin. A few moments in line and it was their turn to be served.

“What’ll it be girls?” Paulette asked politely. Mabel gave her order and then bounced aside. Pacifica quickly stepped up.

“I’ll have the same thing.” Pacifica dug out her wallet. “It’s on me.”

“Are you sure?” Mabel asked, wide eyed.

“Yeah, it’s fine. Just don’t tell anyone about this.” Pacifica handed over a fifty in exchange for two tacos. 

“The tacos are only five bucks.” Paulette raised an eyebrow.

“It’s fine. Just keep the change.” Pacifica handed Mabel her share and then dragged her away to a far table that was relatively hidden. Anything to just get away before people made note of this.

“Gee, thanks Pacifica!” Mabel took a big, crunchy bite, taco filling threatening to spill onto her swan sweater (the real feathers were a nice touch). “I guess you do know about sharing after all.”

“This isn’t sharing.” Pacifica frowned. “It’s a handout. Handouts are fine for you, being a commoner and all…”

“A taco this good is worth it.” Mabel took another bite and Pacifica followed suite. They really were better fresh. 

Before she knew it, Pacifica found herself enjoying a conversation with her taco buddy. Mabel was just finishing up the story of how she got her pet pig, Waddles. Time travelling seemed a bit outlandish, but after what happened at the golf course, Pacifica was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Besides, the story was an amusing one.

“…so he gives Wendy a black-eye for like, the bazillienth time all so I could keep my Waddles! It was a better deal anyway. A pig is way better than a girl who’s out of your league!”

Pacifica laughed along with Mabel until her phoned buzzed in her pocket. With it came the crashing of reality.

“Oh, that’s my dad. I’m supposed to be getting ready for some meet and greet tonight, or whatever.” Pacifica stood and readjusted her sunglasses. Disguised or not, she hadn’t meant to spend the last hour and a half with _Mabel_ of all people. And _no_ , her stomach was absolutely _not_ filled to the brim with happy butterflies. 

“Sounds like fun!” Mabel rose from her seat as well. Pacifica edged away.

“Not really. It’s just a bunch of business people coming to talk to daddy. All I get to do is stand around and look gorgeous.”

“Oh. Well, looking pretty is fun!” 

“Not when your parents are super judgmental…” Pacifica muttered.

“What?”

“Nothing. Look, I’ve got to go now. Today was… tolerable.” Pacifica glanced at the time on her phone. Her chauffeur would be waiting outside now. “And remember: Don’t tell _anyone_!”

Mabel saluted with another ‘serious face’ that quickly broke into a grin. “Sooooo?” Her eyebrows waggled.

“So what?” Pacifica frowned.

“Did your experiment go well?”

“What?” For a moment, Pacifica had no idea what Mabel was talking about. Then she remembered and quickly said, “Oh. Yes. Definitely better fresh. If you’ll excuse me.”

Pacifica intended to leave Mabel here, but Miss Swan Sweater followed her out of the food court. 

“You know…” Mabel said with forced casualness. “I’m not sure if you got all the data you need. Maybe we should get tacos another time, just to make sure your findings are correct.”

“Me? Eat tacos with you? Again?” Pacifica truly meant to turn Mabel down. She wanted to tell her that her sweater was tacky and the way she flapped her hands when she was happy was weird and not at all endearing and that her bouncy curls could use a good wash, but she didn’t. Instead Pacifica actually smiled and said:

“I think that would be acceptable. Just for experimental reasons, of course.”

“Of course.” Mabel agreed, but her hands were flapping and a wide smile was plastered on her face. 

Pacifica could feel another blush on her face, but obviously that was because it was hot and sunny outside. She was full from her taco, but it had only satisfied her hunger. It was Mabel who filled her up with the happy butterflies. Pacifica was looking forward to eating tacos with her again, but only because she wanted to experiment with commoner’s food. Her totally not-crush on Mabel had nothing to do with it.


End file.
